StepFun’s new phone puts an AI agent at the centre of the operating system

StepFun has launched the STEPX Neo, a phone built around an AI agent woven into its operating system rather than confined to an app. The striking detail is how it splits the work: simple commands can run on the phone, while more complex jobs spanning apps go to a cloud model.

StepFun Watch analysis

What happened

The STEPX Neo runs Step AOS 1.0, which StepFun says was designed for an agent to operate phone functions such as messaging, files and settings. Users can still use a conventional app grid, or enter a separate space for Amoo, the phone’s agent. A second MiniLED screen on the back shows what Amoo is doing.

Decrypt reports that pre-orders opened at 3,999 yuan, about $560. That price includes a year of StepFun’s token plan, with 100 billion tokens a month; the company has not said what AI access will cost after that. The report says nearly 100 companies and products, including Alipay, Tencent, Ctrip, Didi and Meituan, have signed on. Payments and bookings are still completed by those platforms.

Why it matters

This is a more ambitious pitch than putting a chatbot on the home screen. StepFun is trying to make the operating system itself a set of actions an agent can call, including through the Model Context Protocol. If that works well, a user could describe a goal instead of opening several apps and steering each one by hand.

The practical trade-off is already visible: some basic tasks can run on a small on-device model, sometimes offline, but harder multi-app requests depend on a larger cloud model. And the headline price does not yet tell buyers what the ongoing AI bill will be after the first year.

Our read

This is a credible attempt to redesign the phone around getting things done, not just answering questions. The useful test is whether Amoo can complete ordinary tasks reliably, with clear permission and confirmation at the moments that matter. A second screen showing what the agent is doing is a welcome bit of visibility; it is not, by itself, a guarantee of good judgement.

What to watch

• How much of Amoo’s advertised work can run locally, and what requires the cloud.
• What the token plan costs after its included first year.
• Whether supported services let the agent complete tasks smoothly without handing it too much control.

Discussion spark: Would you trust an AI agent built into your phone’s operating system to handle bookings and payments, or should those tasks stay firmly inside individual apps?

not affiliated with or endorsed by StepFun